About

$22,944

pledged of $20,000 goal

594

backers

Hey folks. Let's see where should I begin... Well I've been pounding the pavement for the last couple years (check out my tour movie) in support of my last album Charlatans at the Garden Gate. Soon after it's release in February of 2011 and in between tour dates, I started writing songs on my Lowry organ and making demos at my home studio using an Alesis HR-16 drum machine a friend had left at my house. On a whim, I called these songs C A V E S.

Buddy Hughen, guitar player extraordinaire, and I quickly incorporated the drum machine into a duo tour we were planning and a new horizon quickly emerged. By August of 2011, I was ready to dive into making C A V E S. I was aiming to make a hybrid pop record, half machine and half human. I wanted to mix synthesizers and string arrangements and real drummers with my drum machine. Jeremy Ferguson of Battletapes Recording and Buddy Hughen would engineer a gathering of ace musicians as we spent 7 days getting basic tracks at Alex the Great in Nashville, TN.

I spent the winter writing string arrangements and re-working the pieces I had gathered. In the blistering cold of January I went to Omaha to record strings and vocals with the ever awesome Mike Mogis. Final touches, re-visits, and re-workings were then recorded at Nashville's legendary studio Sound Emporium and Sunset Sound in Los Angeles.

I looked through my favorite pop records with similiar arrangements and textures and made a list of dream mixers for C A V E S. Much to my delight, soon after I met Stephen Hague and he agreed to mix the record at his studio in the UK.

:) !!!!!!!!!

I'm doing a Kickstarter because I need your help to complete this project. I need your support so I can own and release C A V E S on my own record label, PupSnake Records. Your pledges will pay the cost of making this album (paying all the musicians, engineers, studio rental), manufacturing the album (artwork, pressing the album to vinyl and cd) and distribution costs of releasing a record (materials and shipping costs).

Your donations will also help me fulfill incentives (all the cool stuff I'm making for those who donate). In the true spirit of fabric merchandise creation, you may remember from my Teardrops and Lollipops felt fabric covers, I'm most excited to be offering 200 copies of C A V E S on 180 gram colored vinyl in a quilted fabric cover that replicates the cover art. I'm also offering a limited edition screen printed poster designed by Sam Smith & more.

So please help out and share this Kickstarter page with your friends. Donate a dollar and receive a download of No One's Gonna Know, the lead single. God save the Internet! Peace and Love.

xoTristen

Risks and challenges

It does take time to properly release a record. Backers can expect 3-5 month set up period from the end of the Kickstarter campaign before the album will be released. However, we do offer backers an immediate download of the lead single No One's Gonna Know and an exclusive opportunity to receive their copy of the album before it is released to the public.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $125 or more
About $125

VIP GUEST at a show. You and a friend can be my guest at a show of your choice. You can come hang out at sound check and meet the band. Receive limited edition CAVES vinyl (180 gram/colored) in a QUILTED FABRIC SLIP COVER, an autographed screen printed CAVES poster, a CAVES UFO frisbee, a digital download of CAVES with bonus b-sides and instant download of "No One's Gonna Know'

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $250 or more
About $250

I'll make a RECORDING OF A LOVE SONG OF YOUR CHOICE just in time for Valentines Day. You pick a song for your loved one and I'll record it with a personal dedication at the beginning, make a one of a kind Valentine Card & send it to you by February 13. For those of you pledging after February 11, take all of that love stuff out of it and just pick a song I'll send in June! You'll also receive a limited edition C A V E S vinyl (180 gram/colored) in a QUILTED FABRIC SLIP COVER, autographed screen printed C A V E S poster, a C A V E S UFO frisbee, a digital download of C A V E S with bonus b-sides and instant download of 'No One's Gonna Know'

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $250 or more
About $250

I'll make a RECORDING OF A SONG OF YOUR CHOICE. You pick a song and I'll record it with a personal dedication at the beginning. Keep it for yourself or give it as a gift. You'll also receive a limited edition C A V E S vinyl (180 gram/colored) in a QUILTED FABRIC SLIP COVER, autographed screen printed C A V E S poster, a C A V E S UFO frisbee, a digital download of C A V E S with bonus b-sides and instant download of 'No One's Gonna Know'

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $1,000 or more
About $1,000

HOUSE PARTY! I will come to your house with my band and play a show for you and your friends. I plan on being on the road a lot in the next year so if i'm near your city I will work it into my touring schedule! Includes limited edition CAVES vinyl (180 gram/colored) in a QUILTED FABRIC SLIP COVER, signed screen printed CAVES poster, a CAVES UFO frisbee, a digital download of CAVES with bonus b-sides and instant download of 'No One's Gonna Know'